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The euro zone economy declined by slightly less than initially estimated in the second quarter, but the drop was still the sharpest ever as consumer spending caved in due to Covid-19 restrictions.  Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 11.8% from the previous quarter and by 14.7% year-on-year, data from the European statistics agency Eurostat showed […]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar says he does not believe a free trade agreement can be reached if the UK does not honour the UK EU Withdrawal Agreement. Mr Varadkar said he hopes that proposed new Brexit-related Westminster legislation is simply “sabre rattling”, adding that  the strategy and behaviour of […]

Sterling fell to a 12-day low against the US dollar and the euro today as Brexit talks veered into fresh crisis after Britain threatened to undermine its European Union divorce deal.   The pound was down 1% at $1.3145, its lowest level since August 26, while against the euro, it touched a low of 89.90 […]

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the economy contracted by 6.1% during the second quarter of 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 restrictions – the biggest quarterly drop ever recorded. This means the economy is now in recession after an initial estimate that it expanded in the first quarter was […]

The UK has demanded “more realism” from the European Union ahead of crucial post-Brexit trade talks, which get under way in London. However, the mood was soured by reports that the British government was looking to rewrite the Withdrawal Agreement that the two sides have already signed. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief negotiator David […]

The euro zone’s recovery ran out of steam midway through the third quarter, with gauges of activity pointing to contractions in Italy and Spain. While manufacturing output rose markedly in August, the larger services sector saw only marginal growth, according to an IHS Markit report. Orders increased at a slower pace, job cuts continued and […]

Most Irish firms still aren’t ready for the extra customs costs and workload of Brexit trade, according to Chartered Accountants Ireland. A quarter of firms surveyed by the professional body say they have been “unavoidably diverted” by the Covid-19 crisis. The findings come ahead of tomorrow’s resumption of talks in London between UK and EU […]

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that construction production slumped by 42.5% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous three month period as Covid-19 restrictions closed down most buildings sites for some months. The CSO said this marked the largest quarterly decrease since the index began. The biggest quarterly decline […]

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is working on a budget for next year that would see Berlin take on net new debt of at least €80bn to fund more measures in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The move underlines Mr Scholz’s determination to move Germany further […]

The amount of tax being collected by the State has continued to defy the scale of the pandemic economic crash but nowhere near enough to fund ballooning spending, new Exchequer data shows. The State recorded a deficit of €9.452bn for the nine months to the end of August as government spending dramatically outstrips income. Tax […]